Sheet-transporting apparatus



June 26, 1956 P. G. SCHLEMMER SHEET-TRANSPORTING APPARATUS 4 Shets-Sheet1 Filed Feb. 12, 1954 I INVENTOR p a scmemw ORNEY June 6, 1956 P. G.SCHLEMMER SHEET-TRANSPORTING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 12,1954 INVENTOR 7 B61 Jc zlemmer ATT EY June 26, 1956 P. G. SCHLEMMERSHEET-TRANSPORTING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Feb. 12, 1954INVENTOR R, $AZmmer BY ATTORNE/ r a :85 K: s 3 .3 .5 :3 5 .9 R: 5 m m P.e. SCHLEMMER 2,752,152

SHEET-TRANSPORTING APPARATUS June 26, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Feb.12, 1954 INVENTOR 7 h3g1 A RNEY r v 2,752,152 [Ce Patented June 26, 1956SHEET-TRANSPORTING APPARATUS Philip G. Schlemmer, Nanuet, N. Y.,assignor to National Equipment Corporation, New York, N. Y., acorporation of New York Application February 12, 1954, Serial No.409,983

6 Claims. (Cl. 271-50) This invention relates to sheet-feeding ortransporting devices, and more particularly to a device in which sheetmaterial sections, as are usually severed from a roll of sheet material,are successively conveyed to a position where the same are to be wrappedabout boxes or other objects intended to be enclosed by the sheetmaterial sections.

In certain types of box-wrapping machines, and particularly those inwhich sheets of cellophane or other sheet material of thin paper or ofmaterials of similar characteristics, are wrapped about boxes, the sheetmaterial is usually drawn from a supply roll; is out 011 into lengths orsheets of a required size to fit the boxes to be wrapped, and the sheetsare successively moved or conveyed to a point above the boxes, which arecarried upward on elevating means to enable the sheets to be foldedabout them. In my copending application Serial No. 404,430,

filed January 18, 1954, is shown a mechanism by which sheet materialdrawn from a supply roll is severed into sheets of required size. Thepresent invention contemplates the provision of transport means by whichsuch sheets are successively carried away from the cutting means and arebrought to the wrapping station.

It is an object of the present invention to provide sheettransport meanswhich will positively move each sheet to wrapping position after thesheet is cut off from its supply roll. It is another object of theinvention to provide transport means which will retain the sheets flatlyand smoothly during transport and present the sheets in such flatformation to the boxes as the boxes are elevated into the initialwrapping position.

It is another object of the invention to provide means by which sheetsof various lengths can be accurately carried to wrapping position, andto provide simple adjustment means compensating for sheets of differentwidths.

It is another object of the invention to provide simplified means bywhich sheets of different length will be transported for the requireddistance to properly position such sheets relatively to the boxes to bewrapped, and to provide means by which the sheet-transporting mechanismcan be adjusted to thereby enable the difierentlysized sheets to bemoved for the required distance to enable them to be properly wrappedabout the boxes. It is a further object of the invention to provide asimplified adjustment means by which the transporting means will receiveand convey sheets of diiferent widths.

With these objects, and other objects to be hereinafter set forth inview, I have devised the arrangement of parts to be described and moreparticularly pointed out in the claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein an illustrative embodiment of theinvention is disclosed,

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of portions of a boxwrapping machine,which portions are those to which the present invention relates;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view, taken substantially on the line 22 of Fig.1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view, taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig.1, looking in the direction of the arrows, and

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of that portion of the boxwrapping machine towhich the present invention relates.

Referring to the drawings, the side members of the frame of the machineare respectively generally indicated at 1 and 2, it being understoodthat these frame members are suitably connected and braced in the knownmanner, one of such braces being indicated at 110 in Figs. 2 and 3.Rotatably mounted in suitable hearings in the frame memhers I and 2 is acam shaft 12 which carries a sprocket 9 driven by a chain 7 extendingfrom a sprocket on the shaft of an electric motor not shown but suitablysupported in the lower or base portion of the machine.

Secured on the shaft 12 is a cam 13 upon which is mounted an adjustablesegment 14, arranged by its rotation and setting relatively to the cam13, to alter the peripheral cam surface that is presented to a camroller 16 rotatively carried on a lever 17 and held against the cam bythe spring 25, attached at one end to the pin 26 and at the other end tothe pin 27. An arcuate slot 15 formed in the cam segment 14 co-operateswith a setting knob 15 to enable the segment 14 to be suitably shiftedto secure the desired effects to be shortly described.

The lever 17 has one end pivoted at 18 on a vertical member 19 of theframe, and the opposite end of the lever 17 is pivoted at 20 to auniversal coupling 21 pivotally connected to the lower end of anadjustable rod 22 which has its upper end pivotally connected at 30 tothe end of an arm 31 secured on and extending radially from a shaft 32capable of rocking movement in bearings 33 and 34 fastened to thehorizontal frame member 35. Secured on the shaft 12 is a hand-wheel 36,omitted from Fig. 1 to more clearly show the cams 13 and 14, but seen inFigs. 3 and 4. Said hand-wheel 36 permits manual rotative movement ofthe shaft 12 when desired to manually adjust the mechanism.

Secured adjacent to one end of the rocking shaft 32 is an arm 37 andsecured at the opposite end of shaft 32 is another arm indicated at 38,these arms being connected at the top by a cross-rod 39. A link 40 (Fig.2) extends from the cross-rod 39 and is pivotally connected at itsopposite end at 45 to one of the transport racks indicated at 41. Asecond link shown at 42 (Fig. 3) and extending from a branch of arm 38,is pivotally connected at 44 to a second transport rack indicated at 43.Each of the racks is in the form of an elongated frame and consists of apair of spaced bars 46 and 47, between which is mounted a plurality offreely-rotatable rollers 48. The rack shown at 43 is suspended adjacentto its opposite ends on links indicated respectively at 49 and 50, thelink shown at 49 having its upper end pivotally attached at 51 to abracket 52 (Fig. 1). The link 50 has its upper end pivotally attached toa bracket located adjacent to the opposite end of the rack 43. Both ofthese brackets are part of a carriage permitting the transport rack 43to be adjusted to or from the transport rack shown at 41 to compensatefor the different widths of the sheets to be transported by theapparatus.

The rack indicated at 41 is suspended on the links and 71 (Fig. 2), thelink shown at 70 having its upper end pivoted at 72 in a bracket 73fixedly mounted in the frame of the machine. Similarly, the linkindicated at 71 has its upper end pivoted at 74 in a bracket 75 mountedon the frame. p 7

Located below each of the transport racks 41 and 43 is an endless,continuously-driven conveyor chain. That which is located below the rack41 is indicated at 55, while that located below the transport rack 43 isindicated at 56. For simplicity in illustration, these chains and thesprockets over which the same travel are diagrammatically illustrated indotted lines in Figs. 2 and 3. It will be therein notedthat each of thechains 55 and 56 extends at one end around a sprocket 57 secured on theshaft 58 which iseontinuously driven'by a chain 59 extending from asuitable drive shaft and extending over the sprocket 50 secured on theshaft 58. At the opposite end of its stretch each of the chains 55 and56 extends about a sprocket 6-1 and between the sprockets 57 and 61 arelocated idlers 62 and 63 to maintain the chains taut.

, With the arrangement thus far described, the sheets of cellophane orthe like to be transported, enter from the right, as viewed in Figs, 2,3 and 4 to position on top of the chains 55 and 56 and below thetransport racks 41 and 43 located above the chains. As long as thetransport racks 41 and 43 are held in elevated or raised position by theaction of the cams 13, 14 on the roller 16, there will be no conveyingmovement of the sheets toward the left since the continuously movablechains will freely move along beneath the sheets, leaving the sheetsremaining stationary. When it is desired to transport the sheets, theracks 41 and 43 are lowered and when lowered, their rollers, 48 willexert sufficient pressure along the marginal edgeportions of the sheetsto thereby force these portions of the sheets into firin contact withthe chains so that the chains will then move the sheet thus held, towardthe left, and will continue this feed or transport of the sheet as longas the sheet is held down on the chains by the pressure of the rollers48 of the racks. When the racks areraised or elevated, it is apparentthat the transporting of the sheet will cease and when this occurs, itis desirable that the sheet shall halt at the required predeterminedposition above the box to be wrapped. This halting effect is attained bymeans of stop members indicated respectively at 65 and 66 in Fig. 4.

To insure the halt of sheets of various lengths at the required wrappingposition, it is desirable that these stops 65 and 66 be easilyadjustable to thereby locate them at the required position to engageagainst the forward edge of each sheet and halt that sheet. The meansfor adjusting the stops will now be described. At 24 32 pivotally joinedat 83 to one end of a link 84 secured on shaft 85. A bar 36 extends fromthe shaft 85, and is connected at 87'to'the sheet-stop 66. Thisarrangement is such that by rotation of the crank 24, the stop 66 can bemoved to position it in the selected position to cause halt of eachsheet at the required point. At its opposite end, the shaft 85 isattached to a bar 88 that attaches to the sheet=stop 65, so that thisstop is adjusted simultaneously and coextensively with the adjustment ofthe stop 66.

It will be obvious from the structure just described that by turning thecrank 24 in the required direction the sheet-stops 65 and 66 can bemoved toward or away from the sheet-entering end of the transportingmeans and thus, upon the elevation of the transport racks and thecessation of frictional pressure by the rollers 43 upon the sheet thendisposed between said rollers and the chains 55 and 56, the stops willhalt the forward travel of the 'sheet and locate it at the'pr'ecisepoint desired to enclose a box of given size.

In order to compensate for differences in widths of the sheets to betransported, the transport rack 41 and parts associated therewith arearranged for adjusting movement toward or away from the companion rack43. This adjusting movement (if the rack 41 is attained 'by means of thehandwheel indicated at 10, and having the projecting handle 11. Thewheel 10 is secured on a cross-shaft 90 mounted for rotation in suitablebearings 91 and '92 in the frame members 1 and 2 respectively. Shaft 90carries gears 93 and 94 meshing with toothed racks 95 and 96 carried bya carriage 97 guided upon guide rods indicated at 93 and 99. Thiscarriage includes the supporting brackets for the transport rack 41 andelements associated therewith, such as the conveyor chain 55 and thesprockets and idlers over which the same extends. The arrangement issuch that by manual rotative movement of the Wheel 10 the transport rack41 and chain 55 co-operating therewith will be moved toward or away fromthe rack 43 and thus the sheets of varying widths can be accommodated.

From the foregoing the operation of the sheet-feeding apparatus will beunderstood. The boxes or other articles to be wrapped are moved along ina direction trans verse to the direction of feed of the sheets, saidboxes being transported by a suitable belt shown at the positiondiagrammatically illustrated at 100 in Fig. 2, until each box reaches anelevator, not shown herein, but which raises the box to bring it againstthe sheet that has been positioned above it by the herein-describedsheetfeeding means, to begin the folding operation. As the boxes proceedtoward the Wrapping station they are held down on the belt 100 by anadjustable pressure plate indicated at 101, which is adjustable toaccommodate plates of varying heights by means of the adjustment meansshown at 102 and 103. a

The sheets to be wrapped about the boxes as the boxes are successivelyraised by the elevating means, are received from cutting means, andenter at the right in Figs. 2 and 3, to position on top of the conveyorchains 55 and 56, and beneath the rollers 48 of the transport racks .41and 43. At the entrance point above described, each of the racks isprovided with a roller 165 (Fig. 2) carried on a pivoted plate 106, andthese rollers 105 engage the end of the sheet before it is cut from theroll and keep it on the chains in proper alignment before the rollers 48of the racks contact with the sheet. The rollers 105 may be under springtension if found desirable.

As long as the racks 4-1 and 43 are in their lowered positions, therollers 48 thereof will press the sheet firmly against the chains 55 and56 and the sheet will be transported toward the left and to the pointwhere it will con tact the stops 65 and 66. Just prior to this pointthecam 13, 14 willcause the racks 41 and 43 to be elevated; pressure of therollers 38 thereof on the sheet Will be ceased and the sheet will bestopped at the stops 65 and 66 and in the correct position to be wrappedabout the box when the box isielevated from below the positioned'sheet.By means of the mechanism described, the sheets are accurately fed towrapping position, while held smooth and Wrinklefree between the racksand will be thus presented flatly and without sag to the box as the boxis carried upwardly in the first wrapping step. The adjusting meansdescribed permits adjustment for the length and width of the transportedsheets and thus by the simple adjustment means described the apparatusmay be quickly arranged for the transport of sheets of the required sizeto fit the boxes to be wrapped. I

Having described a single embodiment of the invention, it is obviousthat the same is not to be restricted thereto, but is broad enough tocover all structures coming within the scope of the annexed claims.

What I claim is:

1. In an apparatus for moving sections of sheet mate'- rial, acontinuously moving, endless-chain conveyor on which the sheets are.successively received for transport, a roller-carrying framemountedabove the chain andhaving controlled movement to and from thechain, said frame carrying a plurality of closely-spaced rollers forcontact with a substantial portion of the length of the chain therollers borne by said frame holding opposite marginal edge portions ofthe sheets in contact with the chain for a substantial portion of theirlength and while the frame is in its lowered position to thereby causethe sheets to be engaged for a substantial portion of their length andtransported by the chain, means for moving the frame to and from thechain and for controlling the periods of time during which the frame isin its lowered position to thereby regulate the distance of feed of eachsheet, and stop means for limiting the extent of feed of each sheet.

2. In an apparatus for moving sheets of cellophane or like sheetmaterial, an endless-chain conveyor on top of which the sheets arereceived, a lengthy roller-carrying frame located above the chain andcarrying a row of closely-spaced rollers and movable to cause itsrollers to simultaneously exert downward pressure on a marginal edgeportion only of a sheet on the chain and thereby hold said portion ofthe sheet in contact with the chain and cause the chain to convey thesheet, means for controlling the period of time that the rollers soengage each sheet to thereby regulate the distance of transport of eachsheet, and stop means for limiting the distance of travel of each sheet.

3. An apparatus for transporting thin, paper-like sheets comprising, apair of spaced endless chains on which the sheets are supported adjacentto their opposite edges, racks located above the chains, each rackcarrying a plurality of rollers adapted to be brought into simultaneouscontact with a substantial portion of the length of the chain below themwhen the rack is lowered, means for raising and lowering the rackssimultaneously, means by which one rack and the chain co-operatingtherewith can be adjusted to or from the second rack and its chain,stops for limiting the forward travel of each sheet, and means by whichthe stops may be adjusted to determine the limits of travel of sheets ofvarious lengths.

4. An apparatus for transporting thin, paper-like sheets comprising, apair of spaced endless parallel chains on which the sheets are supportedadjacent to their opposite edges, elongated racks located above thechains, each rack carrying a plurality of aligned closely-spaced rollershaving peripheries disposed below the rack and adapted to be broughtinto contact with the chain below them when the rack is lowered, meansfor raising and lowering the racks simultaneously, means by which onerack and the chain co-operating therewith can be adjusted to or from thesecond rack and its chain, movable stops for limiting the forward travelof each sheet, and means by which the stops may be adjusted to rest invarious predetermined positions to thereby determine the limits oftravel of sheets of various lengths.

5. An apparatus for transporting sheets including an endless chain, arack in the form of an elongated frame positioned above and movablymounted for movement to or from the chain, rotatable means carried bythe rack and adapted to hold a portion of a sheet against the chain whenthe rack is lowered to thereby cause the chain to transport the sheet,means for raising and lowering the rack, an adjustable cam forcontrolling said rack-raising and lowering means and determining theperiod of time that the rack will remain lowered, a stop for determiningthe position of rest of the sheets carried by the chains, and means foradjusting the position of said stop.

6. In an apparatus for moving thin, flexible sheets having thecharacteristics of Cellophane, a pair of spaced, endless chain conveyorsover which the sheets are positioned, an elongated frame mounted overeach chain and movable to and from the same, each frame carrying aplurality of closely-spaced rollers overlying a lengthy stretch of thechain for contact with the chain when the frame is in a loweredposition, means for moving the frame to and from the chain to therebysimultaneously bring all of its rollers either in contact with the chainor spaced therefrom, means for regulating the period of time that eachframe is in a lowered position to thereby control the extent of feed ofeach sheet by the chains, stops against which the forward end of eachsheet abuts to thereby position said sheet at a Wrapping station, meansfor adjusting the position of said stops, and means for moving one ofthe chains to or from the other chain and frame to thereby determine thespacing between the chains for adjustment to sheets of diflerent widths.

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